Chapter 66: Outside Lumen City Lies the Deer Platform (4)
The floor of the rear hall was still paved with white marble, and the black formation array looked as if it had been painted with ink. The puppet halted in front of the array and once again merged into the shadow of a nearby pillar.
Bai Chunsheng and Yan Yi followed one after the other, with Bai Chunsheng leading the way. Yan Yi still didn’t understand why Bai Chunsheng was angry. He thought for a moment and guessed that Bai Chunsheng might think he was all talk and no substance, completely detached from reality.
Indeed, whether it was the powerful Daoist Changping in the Tribulation Crossing Stage, or the current turbulent world affairs, none of it really had much to do with the two of them.
Yan Yi had wanted to sneakily hold Bai Chunsheng’s hand, but unfortunately, Bai Chunsheng was staring intently at the array at that moment, his eyes full of confusion. He hadn’t forgotten to tuck his hand tightly inside his sleeve. Yan Yi found no opportunity and could only start seriously pondering how he was going to coax his little Dao companion once they arrived in the Bibo Spiritual Realm.
Just then, the teleportation array was activated, and the black formation began to emit a blue light.
The glow grew brighter and brighter until it turned nearly white, engulfing everything visible to the naked eye.
Bai Chunsheng was still fuming over his own odd behavior, feeling both angry and embarrassed. He was a few beats too slow before realizing something was very wrong.
In that dizzying white light, the spirit crow puppet that had been stored in his pouch suddenly came alive, as if awakening on its own. It undid the seal without help and flew out.
Its inky black form was strikingly visible amidst the sea of white.
It flapped its wings, let out two raspy caws, and then burst into laughter. “Time’s up!”
Bai Chunsheng blinked. He didn’t feel the usual dizziness that came with teleportation. In the blink of an eye, the magnificent, carved palace was replaced by what looked like a small fishing village full of “people.”
The reason he thought of them as “people” was because none of them gave off the scent or aura of actual humans.
The sun hung low in the western sky, bathing the world in a golden sunset glow. The few remaining clouds on the horizon were dyed with shades of dusk.
From a distance, the first thing Bai Chunsheng noticed was a butcher at a bustling street corner selling pork, shouting loudly to attract customers.
The butcher wore red clothes and held a giant cleaver in his hand. His face was powdered white, with two strange rosy patches painted on his cheeks.
There was nothing normal about his appearance.
Instinctively, Bai Chunsheng tried to channel his spiritual power—but at that moment, he realized again that his full strength had been completely suppressed by some sort of rule. He was now no different from an ordinary mortal.
What was going on? His mind full of questions, Bai Chunsheng could only think that it must have something to do with the crow’s strange behavior at the end. Maybe the spirit crow had tricked him and Yan Yi—maybe there was no need to actively search for Changliu Mountain at all. As long as they brought the Lingyu Mountain puppet to the Bibo Spiritual Realm, the puppet would automatically take them into the ruins of Changliu Mountain.
Once this thought clicked into place, Bai Chunsheng had no choice but to become extremely vigilant.
After all, according to what the Lingyu Mountain puppet had said, anyone who brought it into Changliu Mountain qualified to compete for the inheritance. Since no one had claimed it for so long, it was clear how perilous the trials must be.
Bai Chunsheng once again took a careful look at the people across the street. It wasn’t just the butcher who looked unusually strange—an old woman buying meat at the stall had a similar appearance. She wore plain white linen clothes, but her face was powdered white, and there were odd red patches on her cheeks.
Looking further down the long street, it was packed full of people. It was as lively as a lantern festival in the Middle Realm during the Lantern Festival, but the more he looked, the more he felt something was off.
The roof tiles were green, the walls white, and the wooden pillars of the houses were painted red. Even the fishing nets hanging on the benches were a striking green.
These colors were so bright they made Bai Chunsheng feel slightly nauseated.
Yan Yi, who should have been at his side with his sword, was nowhere to be seen.
Bai Chunsheng thought for a while. The sky in the distance was gradually darkening, and he figured it was time to look around and search for a way to break through whatever was happening here.
He hadn’t taken these “people” too seriously yet. Even without his cultivation, his swordsmanship and martial arts weren’t something mere mortals could handle. Coincidentally, he had always intended to come here and investigate. Since he had to come eventually, arriving a little earlier was only mildly surprising.
As for Yan Yi, he was probably scattered somewhere else in this strange fishing village too.
The ground of the bizarre village was paved with green bricks. Closest to Bai Chunsheng wasn’t actually the meat-selling butcher but rather a small wonton shop with its door open. A makeshift canopy made from an old sail shaded the stall.
Scattered around the nearby houses were what looked like discarded mud and pebbles dredged up from the sea. Bai Chunsheng walked over and kicked a small stone with precise aim.
He intended to test what exactly made these “people” different from real humans.
The stone hit a customer eating wontons squarely on the nose. Like the others, this person also had white powdered makeup and red cheeks, and he wore white clothes.
Struck on the nose, he yelped loudly, “Aiyo!” With a bang, he slammed his bowl down. Surprisingly, he didn’t suspect Bai Chunsheng, who was standing not far from his table. Instead, he tilted his ridiculous head and looked around before fixing his gaze on a flowerpot hanging directly above his head.
He shouted up at the building, “Hong Chunfeng! Hong Chunfeng! You damned bastard! Your damn flowerpot’s leaking! Dirt just fell into my bowl!”
A window upstairs opened, and out popped another head wearing the same strange makeup. This was a man in red clothes. On his forehead was a huge gash, long dried of blood, but through the wound, one could faintly see his pulsing brain inside.
Hong Chunfeng grunted loudly, “Nope. Not my fault.”
Bai Chunsheng’s eyes flew wide open in shock.
Author’s Note: A simple side quest within the dungeon.
Huge shoutout to @_nyanmaru_ on Discord for commissioning this! The chapter will be posted regularly, show your support for Ciacia at Kofi.
